Ordinary doors, a clear view forward and, on every second-generation car, an automatic gearbox: the R8 is a mid-engined supercar you can crawl through Bangsar in on a Saturday night without much fuss. Audi R8 rental in Malaysia with Grandpride is RM 2,800 a day for the Audi R8, with 120 km and Basic Cover included. It sits on the coupé list alongside the Porsches, the GT-Rs and the Italian cars.
Audi built the R8 from 2006 until early 2024. The first generation came with a 4.2-litre V8 or a 5.2-litre V10, and a manual gearbox was offered; the second generation, from 2015, was V10 only, with no manual. Most R8s drive all four wheels through Audi's quattro system, though Audi also made rear-drive versions. CHECK: which generation and engine is the Grandpride R8, and is it quattro or rear-wheel drive?
Before you book
- Confirm the gearbox. If the car turns out to be a first-generation manual, you'll want to know before you're in stop-start traffic on the Federal Highway. Ask when you reserve.
- Pack soft. The engine sits behind you, so the luggage space is a small compartment under the front bonnet, plus a little room behind the seats. Two people with soft weekend bags is the limit; a hard suitcase is a problem.
- Count the people. It has two seats. If a child or two is coming, look at the Porsche 911 or the Nissan GT-R, whose small rear seats suit children rather than adults; both are compared in our sports car rental guide.
- Plan the kilometres. 120 km a day covers a city day and an evening drive. For a run up to Genting, add 50 km a day; for a longer loop on the best driving roads near KL, add 100 km a day or take unlimited mileage, which costs less per kilometre than paying the per-km rate afterwards.
- Choose protection with the wheels in mind. Low-profile tyres and wide alloys are the easy things to damage on a supercar, on kerbs and potholes. Grandpride Protection+ covers glass and tyres and takes the excess to zero for damage and theft; a Loss Damage Waiver lowers the excess; Basic Cover is included. CHECK: standard excess and deposit for the R8
- Decide who drives. Only the named renter may drive, so a friend can't take a turn for photos. CHECK: minimum age and licence for the R8
On the day
- Take the first half hour gently. Learn how sharp the brakes are and how quickly the throttle answers on a quiet road before you try either on a busy one, and find out which drive mode it's in before you leave the showroom.
- Treat every ramp with suspicion. The nose is low. Take car-park ramps, speed humps and condominium driveways slowly and at an angle.
- Reverse with care. With the engine behind your head the rear view is limited, so use the mirrors and take your time in tight bays.
- Expect a storm after lunch. Klang Valley thunderstorms can turn a dry road into standing water within minutes, and an R8's wide tyres will aquaplane on it whichever wheels are driven. Lift off before the puddles, not in them.
- Watch the speed. Expressway limits top out at 110 km/h and many stretches are lower; speed limits and AES cameras explains how the cameras work. An R8 is well past the limit before it feels busy.
- Leave the circuit for another day. CHECK: may rented cars be driven on a race circuit, and is that covered by any protection option? If you're curious, a Sepang track day explains how they work.
Bringing it back
Refuel to the level it had when you collected it, keep it in Peninsular Malaysia, and take photos of the wheels and panels when you hand it back, so there's a record of how it came home. If this is your first supercar, read how to drive a supercar for the first time the night before, not the morning of.
